A.J. Allmendinger wasn’t quite fast enough in practice to unseat Dale Earnhardt Jr. from the top spot for the Sprint Showdown. But, when it came time to qualify, Allmendinger was able to beat Earnhardt and everyone else to grab the pole for the prelimenary All-Star event on Saturday night.

With a lap of 192.47 MPH/28.06 seconds, Allmendinger was able to beat out Martin Truex Jr for the pole for Saturday’s race.

“It was a good lap,” Allmendinger said to SPEED reporters after his lap. “The car was stuck to the track.”

This is the first time that Allmendinger has sat on pole for the Sprint Showdown, he started on the outside of the front row a year ago.

Rounding out the top-five for Saturday’s event will be Earnhardt Jr. in third, Jeff Burton in fourth and Aric Almirola in fifth.

Before the All-Star race on Saturday night will be the Sprint Showdown, a race of all the drivers that haven’t qualified for the All-Star race. It will feature two 20 lap segments. The winner and second place driver in the event will both automatically transfer from the Sprint Showdown to the All-Star race.

A third Sprint Showdown driver will transfer from to the All-Star race that is the driver who wins the fan vote.

Three times in the history of the All-Star event, a driver that has transferred from the Showdown has won the All-Star race.

“We have 40 laps to get into this thing,” Allmendinger said about the All-Star race.

For the 28th time, the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will do battle in “all or nothing” style race; The NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.

With no points on the line, drivers are competing for $1 million in this star-studded event at the Charlotte Motor Speeday.

Although this will be the 28th time this event has been run, with the new format changes it might as well be the inaugural edition of the event on Saturday night.

Saturday’s format will be the eleventh different style the race has been under since it’s inception in 1985. Consisting of four 20 lap segments and then a final 10 lap dash to the finish following a race-deciding pit stop, drivers and teams will leave it all on the line to bring home the big prize.

This year more than ever has a emphasis placed on winning early in the event. Winners from the first four segments will start in the first four positions for the final 10 lap dash to the finish.

Just as they are every week, pit stops could also make or break a team’s night. The positions following the winners of the previous segments will be determined after a mandatory pit stop following the fourth and final 20 lap segment.

Having qualifying for the All-Star being determined by three laps around the 1.5 mile speedway including a four-tire pit stop, crews can play a pivotal role in getting their driver’s night started up towards the front of the field.

When looking to possible winners for this event, in years past it has been nearly impossible to predict who will win before the final segment of the night.

In years past, we have seen everything from the dominant car on the night to the winner of the fan vote win the event. With that being said, trying to predict the winner of the All-Star race is a daunting task for even a fantasy racing guru.

Much like the All-Star race, the Sprint Showdown has seen numerous changes to it’s format and changes to the way drivers can advance to the All-Star race from it ever since it’s inception.

Not to mention, the Showdown provides a unique mix of drivers competing to advance. Everyone from rookies, to veterans are in this dash for a shot at the $1 million prize at the end of the night.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 27, 2012) – The 28th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will provide some additional incentive for drivers to win one of the four segments heading into the final 10-lap shootout, as the emphasis on winning and pit road strategy have never been more prevalent in this special night of NASCAR star-studded competition. Through the annual Sprint Fan Vote, under way now, fans can again cast ballots for their favorite eligible driver. The driver receiving the highest number of votes will earn a spot in the field.

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race set for Saturday, May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (SPEED, 7 p.m.), will consist of four 20-lap segments, concluding with a 10-lap sprint and a $1 million payout to the race winner. This year’s format will place a higher premium for drivers who win one of the four segments, however, as the winners of the first four segments will move to the front of the field and line up 1-4 prior to the field coming to pit road for the final mandatory pit stop.

When the drivers come down pit road, crew chiefs will have to decide on their best pit strategy, as multiple scenarios will unfold. The team that makes the best call, combined with the optimum performance on pit road, is likely to be in the driver’s seat for the final 10 laps of competition. Wherever the drivers are positioned as they come off pit road after that pit stop is where they will line up to start the final 10-lap segment.

“This new addition to the format is going to provide even greater incentive for the drivers to go all out to win one of the four segments,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “It also puts even more focus on the pit crews and how they perform during that final pit stop. The team aspect of the sport will be highlighted more than ever and it helps set the stage for an exciting race and an exciting evening for the fans.”

The eligibility standards for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race remain the same: race winners from either the 2011 or 2012 season through May 12 or any past champions of the all-star event or NASCAR Sprint Cup Series over the previous 10 years are eligible for the race. In addition, the top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote, all advance into the all-star race lineup.

Fans can vote by using the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Android™ application on their Sprint phone, or by texting “VOTE” to 229466 on any wireless carrier (standard text messaging and data rates apply). Voting is also open at NASCAR.com/AllStar or by visiting the Sprint Experience, located in the midway at all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Voting will continue until 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 19. As an added customer benefit, votes submitted from a Sprint, Boost, Nextel or Virgin Mobile device count double toward an individual driver’s total.

Individual tickets for the May 19 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Blake Shelton pre-race concert presented by Target are on sale now starting at just $39. Fans can also purchase an All-Star Four-Pack for just $99. Tickets can be obtained online atwww.charlottemotorspeedway.com or by calling Charlotte Motor Speedway at 1-800-455-FANS.

The eighth annual NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge returns to kick off the all-star week’s competition, Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The event’s finishing order determines pit selection for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The No. 11 FedEx Toyota team is the defending Pit Crew Challenge champion. Tickets for the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling the Charlotte Bobcats ticket office at800-745-3000.